Addiction is a complicated disease and it’s hard to recover, but there are plenty of success stories that show us it’s possible. There are many things that you can do to help yourself along the way. In addition to seeking out rehab options here in the San Diego area, you’ll need to create a support system around you after you come home. There are so many ways that addiction is also linked to your mental health, so developing healthy habits will be an important part of the process. In this article, we’ll look at some of the best ways to overcome drug addiction using simple mental health tips.

Understand Your Triggers

Triggers are those things that happen that can lead you down the path of using drugs. Emotional awareness and situational awareness are extremely important. When you’re addicted, you’ve trained your body to seek drugs when these triggers happen. You need to retrain your body and mind to do something else instead, and knowing the kinds of emotions and events that can trigger you is a good start.

Keep a Journal

Journaling is a great way to record your thoughts, feelings, and experiences. It can help you process challenging situations in a healthy way so that you don’t have to hold onto them in your head and make yourself feel worse. You can use the journal for any goal or project—it doesn’t have to be limited to addiction recovery or mental health issues. Set aside time each day to process the things that happened and look for solutions to problems you are facing. You can use this journal to help you communicate during therapy sessions as well.

Practice Mindfulness or Meditation

Mindfulness is a way of paying attention to the present moment. It involves focusing on your thoughts, feelings, and sensations in any given moment without judgment. This practice can help you become more aware of your triggers and emotions, allowing you to make better decisions in the future.

Meditation is a great way to relax, focus, and feel more connected with the world. It can help you think more clearly and feel less stressed. There are plenty of religious and non-religious ways to meditate. One version requires you to try and remove thoughts from your mind, while others have you focusing on a specific religious text or song over and over.

Get Support

When you’re about to go through cocaine detox in San Diego or alcohol detox in Miami or prescription pills detox in Denver, you need a support system around you. The physical detox is mentally and physically hard and while treatment centers try to alleviate as much of this as possible, knowing you have support at home makes all the difference in the world. If you’re ready to make a change, reach out for help. Talk to a friend, family member, or professional. You can also join support groups, find others who are going through the same thing as you, and learn from their experiences. These relationships will be invaluable as you journey through the recovery process.

Take up a Hobby 

Hobbies are amazing for your mental health. They stimulate your brain, help you feel joy, and even give you something to be proud of accomplishing. Hobbies are a great way to learn new skills, feel more confident and relaxed, and connect with others. It’s easy to get caught up in spirals of worry when going through addiction recovery, but hobbies can help you take your mind off these thoughts for just a short time every day. This will allow for better sleep at night and less stress overall during the day.

Spend Time in Nature

There is scientific evidence that walking in the forest, or a field does something positive to your mental health. One of the best ways to combat stress and anxiety is by spending time in nature. When you’re surrounded by the beauty of nature, you can find peace and calm that’s unlike anything else. Spending time outdoors is a great way to relax and de-stress, which are vital in the recovery process.

Take a walk around your neighborhood or go for a hike in the woods. Even if it’s just an hour or two every week, this will help balance out all of the craziness in your life so that it doesn’t completely take over your mind.